


Good Omens: 669 - Replacement of the Beast

by GreenRoyale



Category: Good Omens (TV), Good Omens - Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett
Genre: Angsty Crowley (Good Omens), F/F, F/M, Gen, M/M, Moth to a flame, Multi, Other, Song: You Belong With Me (Taylor Swift)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-30
Updated: 2019-09-30
Packaged: 2020-11-08 06:17:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,991
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20830775
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GreenRoyale/pseuds/GreenRoyale
Summary: Aziraphale, Crowley and Taylor Swift.Find out how the three of them have a little hand in the ineffable plans in this fic!





	Good Omens: 669 - Replacement of the Beast

**Author's Note:**

> Agnes Nutter didn't see this coming.
> 
> Work is unbeta'd. Any mistakes, feel free to point them out so I can fix them. Thanks buds. Enjoy!

Chapter One: Good Day

It was a good day. All the days had been good. There had been a little more than eight days now, as there should have been. Humanity had been striving under the guidance of Heaven and failing at the temptations of Hell.

Not a lot of people know about Angels. Most people had faith in them, others did not. What set them apart was that one group tend to thank the Creator a lot more often than the other whenever a miracle happens. Of course, who would have thought that miracles could come from the unlikeliest of places?

For example, right now a young boy is riding a bicycle. It was a bright shade of pink with colourful streamers attached to the handles. He would get teased for getting on a bike like that, not because of the colour but mostly because it was too small for him. He had borrowed his younger sister's bicycle so he could rush to school on this bright Monday morning.

What the young boy failed to notice was the unsuspecting car making a turn just around the corner. The driver had been working till late the night before and was on his way home. He would not have thought that a bicycle was going to appear in front of him as it was not a proper crossing.

The two's destinies were bound to cross the moment the front tyre of the bicycle makes contact with the hood of the car and the boy goes flying across the street at the impact. Passersby stop in their tracks and soon became onlookers, witnesses to the accident.

When the driver stops his car and rushes out to check on the victim, he would be surprised to see that not only was the young boy still alive, he was good enough to be up on his feet.

"Are you alright, boy?" The driver continues to check on him.

"Y-yes, I'm fine," said the boy, just as bewildered to know that he was unhurt.

"Oh thank heavens!"

"My sister's bicycle!" The young boy exclaims, now more worried about explaining his crime.

They rushed over to get the bicycle, noting that it had been beautiful folded into half down the middle thanks to the impact of the hit. Little girls' bikes do not usually do that, the driver thinks to himself. This is going to be a lot easier to compensate in comparison to what would have been had the young boy not been just fine.

"It… it's a miracle," someone in the crowd thought aloud. "You have Angels watching over you…"

Someone else made a chortle sound, cynically speaking. "Sure. Angels."

He turned away from the scene, checking it off in his mental notebook as a miracle committed as per agreement. The red haired tall person strutted down the streets, barely giving a hoot about the cars that were going about their way. He didn't quite approve of humans automatically assuming that whatever miracles they come across must and could only be from the guys upstairs. Every little flap of the butterfly wing, every flower that bloomed, every sweet first kiss. All of them seemed to be credited to Heaven, for whatever unknown reason.

Sometimes, he gets frustrated when he has to perform miracles simply because he had lost the coin flip. But really, they get more work done this way. This unknown redhead, of course, is to be noted as the demon Crowley. He was the great wily serpent from the beginning of time. He's done some pretty amazing things on his own too.

Some of those things could even be perceived as "good" by humanity. For example, how easily could a student mistake their passing in a subject they never had confidence in passing, as a miracle from heaven? When in fact, it would have been Crowley meddling with their results. 

His explanation for this is simple. Having the students pass mean they would have to continue toiling. In the midst of toiling, the students would not realise that they are indeed submitting themselves to endless torture and pointless suffering under the pretext of working towards a better future. School is, after all, a great place for self-betterment and empowerment. It just so happens that a lot of Crowley's comrades run these places.

"Angel, I've pretty much finished the job over here. If you're done curating your first editions, let's meet up at our third alternate rendezvous. I'll be waiting," the demon hangs up easily upon leaving a message on the machine.

It wasn't much of a surprise that the two unlikely friends meet ever so often in the past millennia. A bond that spans over six thousand years was simply inexplicable, much less one that involved a warrior of heaven and its adversary.

That being said, there were things about Angels that most demons are not made aware of and this was a great deal as some of these demons themselves had been fallen Angels at one point of time. Crowley, being one of the first beings created from the beginning, knew for a fact that Angels were creatures of light. And light, as humans had come to discover, were a spectrum of colours.

A lot like light, Aziraphale is also made out of a spectrum of colours. Crowley remembers seeing Aziraphale in his true form back in the gardens of Eden. He was such a bright ball of light radiating purity and hope, literally. It was the kind of light energy that a demon like Crowley could not resist. A creature of the dark could only be so attracted to one that radiates such brightness.

As the Bentley not-so-cruises down the streets of London, one particular angel gets busy cleaning up his collection of antique books. They're not so much old as they are original, everybody knows to look for the first editions only in this bookshop.

Aziraphale had gotten the message Crowley had sent him, it never fails to make him smile to know that they were going out to dine someplace. He was practically humming along to the music as he goes to keep the last of his tools, he would need to look his best for lunch. As he picks up his coat from the hanger, the bell hanging on the front door rings to signify someone had just entered.

“Sorry! We’re closed!” the angel peers out with a beaming smile that slowly falters when he recognises his guests. “Gabriel.”

And behind the angel was his trusted comrade, Sandalphon.

“I wasn’t expecting you,” Aziraphale said, trying to keep his smile steady. If they were both here on Earth, and in his bookshop, it only meant something huge.

“Oh, we just came to… What do the humans say? Surprise you!” Gabriel made a show with his hands, poorly imitating what seemed to be a human entertainer of some sort.

“Oh, I see.”

The three angels stared at each other for a moment. Aziraphale not knowing what the other two angels were here for. Gabriel possibly being proud of his human social references. Sandalphon.

“Were you here to talk to me about something?” the blonde angel finally asks.

“Oh yes!” Gabriel said, taking a step closer and then clasping his hands together as his smile never falters. “We hear that you have been… consorting… with a demon. Crowley?”

If angels had hearts that beat a regular rhythm then Aziraphale’s surely did skip a few upon hearing that question, phrasing and specifically that name. It got his gasping, but unable to form words just yet.

“Of course, I wouldn’t want to accuse you before confirming it with you,” the taller angel said, gesturing a hand towards Aziraphale.

“Well, that’s absurd! I don’t know where you would get an idea of that from,” the blonde angel manages to choke out.

Gabriel stared at Aziraphale for a good moment, keeping the gaze steady. He always had such a stare that made one feel like they were under scrutiny, it didn’t help with Aziraphale’s anxiety.

“I knew I could trust you,” Gabriel finally chuckles, wagging a finger towards him as if they were sharing a joke between them.

“Well, yes, but Crowley,” Aziraphale quickly adds, then clears his throat when Gabriel turned his attention back, “the adversary… He is… Well, my sources tend to use his for reference. See, he is loose lipped sometimes. Most of my news regarding, uhm, downstairs… Usually, come from observing him. Of course! He still keeps me on my toes, reminds me of how bad demons are!”

“That is good, then,” the other said, his smile is now a little different. It almost looks as if Gabriel was pitying his fellow angel. “That’s what it should remind you. Every time you see a demon, you should remember that they are bad. They are darkness. And us, angels, we are light! Aziraphale, creatures of the dark are always attracted to the light. They’re like…”

“Moths,” Sandalphon helps.

“Moths!” Gabriel gasped, turning to look at Sandalphon with such pride only a bad boss could afford to give to his boot licker. “This guy. Genius. But yes, moths. Demons will always be attracted to angels like moths to light. He isn’t interested in you, Aziraphale. Not in any way more than to corrupt and tempt you. That’s what they’ve sworn to do.”

“And we’ve sworn to thwart them,” Sandalphon adds, earning a nod from Gabriel as well.

Now, they both were looking at Aziraphale like he was just pitiful. The blonde angel does not like that look in their eyes.

“I’ll bear that in mind, thank you,” he said softly.

“Wonderful!” Gabriel claps his hands, a little too loudly for Aziraphale’s liking too. “That wraps it up then.”

“Uh!” Sandalphon makes a sound to interrupt, reminding Gabriel of what they had come here for apart from the little sermon.

“Right! Apart from that, we’ve received news,” Gabriel said with a grin. The kind of grin that was just too gleeful, it meant something too good to be truly happening.

Crowley is currently driving in his Bentley, cursing at pedestrians who cross the roads and were getting in his way. He was blasting the radio, listening to one of the famous dwellers of both worlds.

But she wears short skirts

I wear T-shirts

She's cheer captain

And I'm … The unspeakable one, the king in yellow…

“Hastur,” Crowley hisses, once again getting his entertainment hijacked by the demons.

“You don’t sound too excited to hear me, and I don’t even care,” Hastur’s voice kept coming from the speakers of the Bentley. “We’ve got news to deliver to you. Where are you right now? You’re not canoodling with your… white-feathered, shiny halo boyfriend are you?”

“What do you want, Hastur? You’re interrupting my daily dose of Taylor Swift,” Crowley rolls his eyes.

There were noises of radio static for a moment, then Hastur spoke again. “We’ve got news that you would be most pleased to hear. Be ready to receive your instructions.”

Once again, as Crowley drives down the streets of London, he was receiving his instructions from the radio. They came in wisps of grey, whispers in ancient languages nobody ever spoke anymore. These instructions were specific to him, nobody else would know of it.

By the end of those instructions, Crowley slammed his foot down on the brakes. When he was sure he had shut the radio off from Hastur, he picked up his phone and was about to dial for Aziraphale when his phone rang and he picked up the call instead.

“Angel! I was just about to call you! You wouldn't believe it if I told you-”

“Crowley, listen! We have a big problem!”

The both of them spoke at the same time, unable to contain the calamity of news they had just received. Finally, speaking not only at the same time but of the same words.

“There is a new anti-christ!”

**Author's Note:**

> Hi readers, welcome to my first Good Omens fanfic. This scene just came to me one night while I was trying to sleep, so like a rational and sane person I wrote it all up! Still undecided whether I want to continue this or to have it remain as a oneshot. Do let me know in the comments what you think about it. Also please let me know if you spot any mistakes, I didn't make any checks.


End file.
